In her latest article, Christina Oakes, EVP of Venbrook Private Client, explores the hidden exposures often overlooked in traditional insurance planning. From short-term rentals to recreational vehicles and pools, even the most well-insured households may face significant liability gaps.

Cyberattacks remain a significant credit risk in 2025 as geopolitical tensions elevate and threat groups actively target the insurance sector, according to a report by FitchRatings.

The recent cyberattacks aimed at U.S. insurers, U.K. retailers and an Asian airport highlight a growing need for comprehensive cybersecurity across all industries and regions, the data showed, with companies prioritizing cyber resiliency in a better position to reduce negative impacts to their credit ratings.

When a hurricane or a wildfire strikes, the economic damage is usually very visible — roofs are ripped off or charred homes line roads. Heat waves cause financial damage, too, but it’s more diffuse: Farm crops might wither, construction workers pause or data centers sputter out, forcing customers offline.

Tech companies Google and Palo Alto Networks are sounding the alarm over the “Scattered Spider” hacking group’s interest in the aviation sector.

In a statement posted on LinkedIn on Friday, Sam Rubin, an executive at Palo Alto’s cybersecurity-focused Unit 42, said his company had “observed Muddled Libra (also known as Scattered Spider) targeting the aviation industry.”

In a similar statement, Charles Carmakal, an executive with Alphabet-owned Google’s cybersecurity-focused Mandiant unit, said his company was “aware of multiple incidents in the airline and transportation sector which resemble the operations of UNC3944 or Scattered Spider.”

US National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecasters accurately predicted Hurricane Erick would explode in intensity as it hit Mexico’s Pacific coastline. Now, key tools that helped inform that outlook will go away by the end of this month, and it’s unclear if a replacement will be available as the Atlantic moves deeper into what’s expected to be an unusually active hurricane season.

Bank examiners at the Federal Reserve Board will no longer assess reputational risk during examinations, a concession to the banking industry already underway with two other U.S. regulators.

The Fed announced the change Monday, saying that references to reputational risk will be removed from all supervisory materials, including examination manuals. References to reputational risk will be replaced, the Fed said, with “more specific discussions of financial risk.”

The grounding of the MSC Antonia near the Eliza Shoals off Jeddah has drawn attention to the increasing risks of cyber-physical attacks in the maritime sector, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

With the official start of hurricane season on June 1, insurers and claims professionals should prepare for what has the potential to be one of the most volatile seasons in memory. An environment shaped by rapid storm intensification and flooding adds pressure to professionals, with increased risks, rising costs, and supply chain challenges impacting recovery and remediation efforts.

As data privacy regulations tighten and public scrutiny intensifies, organizations are reassessing how they manage digital risk. For risk managers, the challenge now extends beyond compliance to sustaining operational resilience and protecting long-term value.